1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a target used in shooting sports. In particular, the present invention relates to a target system, commonly referred to as a dueling tree, in which a plurality of targets are available to a pair of shooters wherein the targets move when they are hit by the shooters.
2. State of the Art
The use of targets to enhance one's shooting ability is extremely common place. For hundreds of years, soldiers, police officers, and the like have used targets to improve their ability to shoot accurately in war time and other high pressure situations. A variety of different mechanisms have been used to simulate these situations in which the shooter's blood pressure will rise and affect his or her shooting ability.
One common method for generating adrenaline and blood pressure increases in a shooter is to have a competition. The competition may be as simple as shooting at a plurality of clay pigeons or other targets. While isolated shooting at targets in competition situations provides a moderate increase in adrenaline flow, a much more significant increase is caused by head-to-head competition wherein both shooters are shooting a target at the same time. This is even more so if the competition is structured such that both shooters know how well the other shooter is doing.
One system for significantly increasing pressure on the shooter during the competition is the use of a system called a dueling tree. Typically, a dueling tree includes a plurality of targets which are mounted on a central support. The targets are mounted such that if a target is hit by one shooter, the target moves into the firing line of the other shooter. Thus, a shooter attempts to strike the targets and move them into his competitors line of fire as quickly as possible. The first person to have all the targets disposed in their line of fire loses the competition.
While a shooter may concentrate on hitting a particular target to move into his opponents line of fire, that concentration is readily broken when a target from the opponent moves over to his or her line of fire. This scenario quickly develops adrenaline and blood pressure increases and causes the shooter to react similarly to a real live situation in which the shooter's life may be in danger.
One problem with some dueling trees is that a target may not completely move to the other side if hit. Other dueling trees are constructed so that even a grazing of the target will cause it to move. While attempts have been made to correct these problems, considerable improvements could be made.